Never trip on the same stone twice
by Lord Mendasuit
Summary: Namikaze Minato has made many mistakes during his life, and the one he considers his worst comes back to haunt, and ultimately, kill him. He would have been happy to atone for his sins with his death, had he not been given a better way of doing so: Preventing himself from making those mistakes in the first place!


The yellow flash was often nothing more than a white and yellow blur in the battlefield. Heck, rarely was he ever seen in detail, and it was because he never did stop moving in the battlefield, moving with unrivalled speed even without the use of his prized, army-killer jutsu. This time, however, he hadn't become a blur out of his own volition, no.

He'd been kicked so hard that he was but a blur as he went flying away from his aggressor. He landed harshly against the third wall on his flight path, having broken past the two weakened ones before. He'd punched straight into someone's living room. Blood flowed from both corners of his mouth, and a full body spasm had him vomiting some more all over himself.

He certainly didn't make the picture of a grand, invincible hero, with a torn and burned coat, a reddened jounin vest and a sizable cut on his left cheek that still stung despite the numbness overcoming him. The pain was immense, and he knew he was gonna die. The damage to his internal organs from blunt force trauma alone was tremendous, even reinforcing his body as he had, to a level most shinobi could only dream of, he'd received lethal damage and could do nothing but look hopelessly at the silhouette that was marching out of the inferno that consumed Konohagakure no Sato, his beloved home.

Blue eyes locked upon crimson red ones, and Minato coughed a little more blood before allowing himself a smile. The pain was nearly gone, he knew he was at death's door, and all he wanted to do was laugh. All that he truly wished to do at that moment was simply let that one impulse out of his system.

So he did.

"You're laughing at a time like this?" The surprised silhouette stated, and Minato could vaguely see the raised eyebrow. It might have been of hair as sun-kissed blonde as his at some point, but at the present moment it was colored the same red of blood.

The silhouette was red because it was covered from head to toe in the precious lifeblood of many that had stood in its path, though the red of its long coat disguised the bloodstains rather well, unlike Minato's, which was designed to show the accumulated blood of his slaughter.

The blood that covered that silhouette, Minato knew who it belonged to. It belonged to his beloved wife, Namikaze Kushina, who had died valiantly fighting the invincible juggernaut, torn in half by a perverted version of her own signature skill, the Chakra Kusari. The brutal display had done nothing but spur the silhouette's next victim on, and Minato regretted dearly allowing his family to be with him on the battlefield this day, knowing that he would die.

His beloved daughter, Namikaze Natsu, had only slowed down the ever-advancing monster for a total of a minute at the most. She'd summoned the Toad Boss, Gamabunta, who'd immediately gotten dispersed by the mockery of Kushina's chakra chains. Even his daughter's ability to think on the fly perhaps to a greater degree than Minato himself (coming from a man of such quick wit that he'd modified an ancient Uzumaki seal on the spot, that had to be high praise) could only buy her a few seconds more in the land of the living.

She wasn't even outsmarted, she'd just grossly misjudged her opponent's strength and willingness to receive brutal injuries to return them in kind. She never could've expected her opponent could regenerate lost limbs with ease, so she'd been impaled when she was caught overextended.

Minato's tears leaked as he failed to even care about his own imminent death. In a way, he was glad he would die. He'd lost everything he had ever cared about, everyone he had ever loved. However, what pained him the most was that he knew that everything that had happened on this day…

… Had been his fault.

He had created the monster that now stood before him. The monster who even now had nine spike-tipped red chains floating lazily yet threateningly, subtly poised to strike the moment Minato tried the slightest offensive move. The monster just wanted to watch him suffer in his final moments.

"I'm sorry." Minato said, not even caring about how much it hurt to speak.

The monster seemed confused. "You must have gone insane from the pain and grief." It concluded.

"I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you…. I'm sorry for creating the monster you've become…" the Yondaime Hokage spoke, his mouth curling into a smile. "You've gotten so strong… I never could've seen this coming…" He continued, seeing the monster had been too shocked to interrupt him.

"If you think you're the reason for all this, you're overestimating your own value." The monster said, though Minato was far too good to be fooled at this point. It was just posturing and he knew it better than everyone.

A raspy laugh echoed in the desolate silence broken only by the cracking of wood as it was weakened by fire. "Am I? Am I really?" Minato asked, smiling. Seeing as the monster failed to respond to that he decided to continue. "It's my fault… I was a short sighted idiot… I was so scared… so afraid that… that I couldn't see what I was doing to you."

"I was correct, then. You were afraid of the power I had." The monster spoke, a hint of vindication in its tone.

Minato shook his head, then chuckled. "Of course not." He replied, though he'd done so in such a manner that it irritated his throat and he coughed a few times, spitting the blood that had pooled in his throat. "I was afraid for you… I take it… you've heard… the prophecy…" He trailed off, looking at the nod of confirmation and taking a second to gather himself before continuing.

"The one that said I would grow up to one day fight your daughter and whoever won would decide the fate of the world. If she won, it'd be saved and if I won, it'd be destroyed. That's why you tried to keep me weak, to keep me chained and under your thumb… You were afraid that I would win and destroy the world."

Minato allowed himself yet another brief chuckle. "You're wrong again… Who told you that prophecy?"

"That doesn't matter." The monster said, slit red eyes glaring at Minato's own blue ones.

"That prophecy is incomplete… The complete prophecy said that… The one with the great burden… would know great pain… and furious anger…" Minato explained, fearing for a second his time was cut short when his sight began to lose focus before he recovered, knowing that his time was short already. "That… is you… I wanted… to shelter you… I knew… you would suffer…"

"And you wanted to protect me from suffering by forbidding me to do the only thing I have ever enjoyed? By preventing me from ever having friends? By taking away everything I ever held dear, alienating me from everything and everyone? You thought that by keeping me locked up in your compound, you could save the world? It's just like you, Namikaze, to sacrifice your child for the sake of the greater good!" The monster shouted, heatedly, almost making Minato's ears ring from the volume it achieved. He was certain that it was mostly because Minato was in insane pain already that he didn't really feel affected by the pressure of the killing intent the monster had unleashed.

"The prophecy… spoke of the…" He had to stop for a second as another fit of coughs came up, forcing him to spit the blood he'd accumulated. "Pain of betrayal…" Minato looked sorrowful, then. "I never suspected… that I had… any part… in this prophecy." He said, trying to go for a gentle smile. "I was… so afraid… I didn't want you… to suffer… I thought… I could keep you… safe from the world…"

"Well look at all the good THAT achieved." The monster nearly snarled.

"That's why… I'm sorry…" Minato was beginning to feel his life fade away. "I thought… I could convince you… to lay your vengeance to rest… if I died by your hand… that I could… give you… some closure… at least…"

The monster didn't seem to wish to launch into another rant about how Minato had failed at the most important task he'd ever set for himself, which he considered a good thing. It was taking the time to consider his words, mulling them over in its mind. It made him happy, for a fleeting moment, to think that at least he'd gotten to alleviate the pain in its soul a little.

Because Minato knew that beneath the exterior of a cruel monstrosity that hated everything and everyone, therein still lay the heart of a kind boy driven mad by his own anger and grief. Driven mad by the actions of a man who had let his fears dominate his mind, who had let irrationality dominate his judgment and who had ultimately failed to protect that which he considered the most dear.

"I never thought… you would… go this far…" Minato began, tears rolling down his cheeks as if they were rivers. "Never thought… my mistakes… were this bad…" He admitted. "I thought… you could forgive… them… they had… nothing to do… with my mistakes…"

The creature seemed to break from its reverie. "You were not the only one in your family who took pleasure in my pain." It informed Minato, its voice without the slightest shred of guilt.

"That… was my mistake… too…" Minato admitted. "I… tried to… keep you safe… even from… Kushina and Natsu…" Then, a small smile grew on his face. "Kushina… Loved you… so much… that she couldn't… wouldn't… let go of you…"

"Oh, yes, I could tell she loved me when she would go crazy every time she caught me trying to play by myself. I couldn't sit for an hour when she caught me trying to climb trees the way you showed Natsu." The monster snorted, sounding amused at the very least. "I could tell she loved me by the loving way she ignored my existence whenever her daughter was around."

"We… both of us… were so afraid… if you became a shinobi… your destiny… would've been… to suffer… for the rest of the world… and… I… We… We couldn't bear the thought of having to sacrifice you for the world…"

"I don't believe you." The monster stated, calmly. "If either of you had ever loved me, you would have not locked me in my room every time I so much as played with a practice kunai. You wouldn't have yelled at me for just wanting to be a Shinobi."

"… Please… She… was… terrified… So was I…" Minato admitted. "But… I was wrong… I should… have allowed you… to be happy… In my fear… of you getting hurt… I couldn't realize… I didn't want to realize… that I was the one making you suffer…"

"Enough of this meaningless chatter, I'll just put you out of your misery, it's making you delirious." The monster said, with a strange air of finality that lacked resolution to Minato. He couldn't quite explain it, he just got the feeling that even the monster itself wasn't certain that it really meant its words.

Perhaps he was a bit too happy that it finally understood him. He was also happy that it hadn't forgiven him. It would make the thought of killing him be guiltless. He didn't want to cause it further pain. "Okay… then…" Minato said, smiling. "Just… wanted you to know… I've always… loved you… Naruto… and that no matter what… I'll always… do…"

"You lie. You lie! You LIE!" the monster finally exploded, breaking any form of composure. Minato swore he could see tears.

Perhaps… perhaps not all was lost. The monster… hadn't fully consumed everything that was once Minato's beloved son. "Naruto… all I ask for… is to put all your hatred on me… I'm at fault… for everything you've ever suffered… so… when you kill me… let the rest of your hatred… die with me. Allow yourself to be happy…"

"You're lying! You're lying!" Naruto yelled, his right hand cradling his head as he fell to his knees. "You've always hated and feared me! You knew I'd be stronger than you! You knew I would win that fight! You tried to keep me weak so your daughter would win!"

"Naruto… I tried… my best… And failed… to be your father…" Minato's tears had stopped. "Go on without falter… complete your revenge…"

"Why? Why do all of this!? Why play this mindgame on me!? What's the point!? You're going to die! You're asking me to kill you! So why… Why do you make it so difficult!?" The blood soaked blond asked, as tears actually fell down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry… I'm… causing you more… pain again…" Minato said, a sad smile in his face. "But... you can still… be happy… Escape the hatred…"

"No…" Naruto spoke, his tone calm and collected. "It's too late for me…" He admitted, and Minato could now see that the red had faded from his son's eyes, leaving the azure blue he'd been born with. Guilt and grief were the only things present in them. The rage and hatred faded, leaving only the kind little boy whose world, whose entire motivation, had just been proved wrong in the span of a single conversation.

Minato wanted to kick himself once more, for allowing this to happen. His son's cause had been righteous, if his execution too brutal. His son had finally had a chance of happiness and he'd once again carelessly ruined it.

"I was so angry… I thought I hated you so much… I hated Kushina and Natsu… I hated this village… I hated the world…" Naruto explained, his every sentence interrupted by a loud sob. "Nobody wanted me… Nobody wanted to look at me… I was alone in every crowd I found myself in. Rejected by everyone, loved by nobody… There were times when I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die…"

His sobs almost revived Minato's long dead parental instinct, which had been killed when he realized it caused more harm than good. A weak hand lifted itself to wipe a falling tear that mixed with blood, and Minato offered the kindest smile he could, strained as it was, to his son. "This… is my fault again… I'm sorry… I took away the last… joy in your life…"

"Dammit… stop apologizing!" Naruto yelled. "I killed your family! I enjoyed doing it! Why don't you hate me!? Why don't you curse me!? Why don't you call me a monster, like everyone else does?!"

"I told you… I love you… and no matter… what you do… you're still… my son…" Minato said. "The responsibility… for your actions… rests on… my shoulders…"

"I… I don't want to hate anymore." Naruto admitted, as he moved towards where his father's form lay against the wall. "I'm… I'm sorry for everything I've done…"

The Yondaime could do nothing but envelope his son in his arms, trying to provide comfort in what had to be yet another painful moment in his life that Minato had caused.

Minato knew he was sincere. As insufficient as a simple 'I'm Sorry' was for the atrocities he had committed, there was no way anyone would ever forgive him for what he had done, even knowing the story behind the murder of the Namikaze family. Minato knew that the best his son could hope for was a speedy execution, but the most likely would be torture before he was executed. "Run… run away… and never come back…" Minato advised.

"No… I'll… I'll face the consequences of my actions…" No longer possessed by the hatred and rage that had made him an invincible juggernaut in the battlefield, Naruto seemed weak and fragile. Yet Minato had no difficulties seeing the sheer determination in his son's eyes. It filled him with equal parts pride and guilt, knowing that his son was a man of honor despite his own failure in helping that be so. "My soul is stained with blood and blackened with my own hatred… I can never go back to being an innocent little kid anymore…"

Minato coughed a few times, and he felt his own limbs begin to slacken their hold on his son. He felt death coming, as he lost all feeling in his legs. "I'm sorry… again… Naruto… but my time's… almost up… I'll have… to say goodbye… soon…"

"It's too late for me." Naruto repeated, seemingly having come to a startling realization. "But it's not too late for you… There's a way… I know a way… this mess… This mess can be fixed. I know how to fix this mess… But I can't do it…"

Naruto abruptly stood up, shocking the dying Minato into looking at his son's face in surprise.

"I… Please… I know this is selfish but… Father… please, save me… save me from becoming this monster… Save your family from me… I don't want… I don't want to be this ever again."

Namikaze Minato's eyelids were incredibly heavy by now, and it was taking considerable effort to keep himself awake. His son's voice was distant, as if coming from the far away end of a long tunnel.

His eyes widened almost impossibly when Naruto's fingers, the nails sharpened into claws that had torn through metal like paper, came together to form a crude facsimile of a knife. With a forceful jab, Naruto's own hand pierced his chest with a splash of blood.

Instantly afterwards, Minato felt the last of his strength fading.

"Save me from myself."

And that was the last thing Minato heard, as the sweet, warm and comfortable embrace of the Shinigami took hold of his consciousness.

* * *

Minato's head snapped up from his desk, where he'd fallen asleep. His entire body was covered in cold sweat as he began to look around. "What… I was dead… I was sure I died… so… how am I alive again? Naruto… Naruto did something just before I died… Or… maybe it was all a dream?"

His office was just as he remembered it from that morning, before shit hit the fan. But… no, it wasn't. His eyes scanned his desk. There weren't the innumerable nicks that had been created by his daughter playing with kunai in his office. There weren't the many holes Kushina had made in the wall to his left in displays of anger that varied in intensity. There wasn't… there wasn't that picture of his entire family that he always kept on his desk. The one that was there simply had him and a very, very pregnant Kushina.

The sequence that he remembered had been far too long and detailed to be just a dream. Eighteen years of life he remembered the same as he had in the dream, which he recalled too vividly and with too much detail…

Naruto had definitely done something instants before Minato had died but…

Time travel on this scale was impossible.

He knew all about time travel. Incredible amounts of research time had been spent on it, ultimately resulting in his form of instant travel. He knew it was technically possible through the art of sealing, which was virtually limitless in its potential, but…

His son had outdone him in everything else. Minato threw his head back and laughed. If he had outdone him in everything else, why not on that, too? He probably had the help of a bijuu whose age was amongst the several centuries. It probably had knowledge of Fuuinjutsu that went beyond even that of the Uzumaki.

His son had deemed him fit of a second chance.

And Namikaze Minato was loathe to waste it.

This time… this time he'd be a better father to both of his children.


End file.
